A study on fish diversity in a fresh water lake in Tamil Nadu, India

With the exploding human population, India will have to utilise all its avenues for increasing its food production. Fishes form an important element in the economy of many nations as they form a staple item in the diet of many people Most of the water bodies which form the major life support systems of many organisms are facing ecological degradation today due to irrational interference and unsustainable developments. As fish constitute almost half of the total number of vertebrates, it is very important that their diversity is preserved.

Original Research Article https://doi.org/10.20546/ijcmas.2017.603.290

A Study on Fish Diversity in a Fresh Water Lake in Tamil Nadu, India

R Anbalagan and R Sivakami*

P.G & Research Department of Zoology, Arignar Anna Govt Arts College,

Musiri - 621 211, Tamil Nadu, India

*Corresponding author

A B S T R A C T

Introduction

With the exploding human population, India

will have to utilise all its avenues for

increasing its food production Fishes form an

important element in the economy of many

nations as they form a staple item in the diet

of many people (Shukla and Singh, 2013)

Hence, fish farming will play a vital role as it

is a source of cheap animal protein in human

diet in the coming years (Singh et al., 1994)

However, most of the water bodies which

form the major life support systems of many

organisms are facing ecological degradation

today due to irrational interference and

unsustainable developments (Prasad et al.,

2009) According to Jenkins (2003),

freshwater biodiversity has declined faster

than either marine or terrestrial diversity over the past 30 years Species diversity is likely to

be further reduced due to increased temperatures, reduced precipitation and increased withdrawal of water for agriculture

and other uses (Vorosmarty et al., 2000; Alcamo et al., 2003) Human activities have

resulted in drastic degradation of aquatic resources resulting in the alteration of structure and function As fish constitute almost half of the total number of vertebrates

it is very important that their diversity is preserved Hence the present study was conducted to analyse the fish diversity in Aathivayal lake

International Journal of Current Microbiology and Applied Sciences

ISSN: 2319-7706 Volume 6 Number 5 (2017) pp 2561-2565

Journal homepage: http://www.ijcmas.com

With the exploding human population, India will have to utilise all its avenues for increasing its food production Fishes form an important element in the economy of many nations as they form a staple item in the diet of many people Most of the water bodies which form the major life support systems of many organisms are facing ecological degradation today due to irrational interference and unsustainable developments As fish constitute almost half of the total number of vertebrates, it is very important that their diversity is preserved Hence the present study was conducted to analyse the fish diversity

in Aathivayal lake in Tamil Nadu A total of 154 fishes belonging to 12 different families were identified Among the various families, Cyprinidae recorded the highest species richness (7 species), followed by Channidae (4 species) and Bagridae (2 species) All the other families were represented by only one fish species In terms of percentage, Cyprinidae represented 54% of the total fish population followed by Channidae (10.67%), Anabaenidae (9.7%), Bagridae (7.76%), Cichlidae (5.82%) and Claridae (4.85%) while the remaining families comprised less than 2% each

K e y w o r d s

Fish diversity,

Cyprinidae,

Aathivayal lake,

Tamil Nadu

Accepted:

20 February 2017

Available Online:

10 March 2017

Article Info

Materials and Methods

Data Collection and Analysis

Fish sampling was performed in five

sampling sites during the period from January

2016 to December 2016 with the help of local

fishermen using different types on nets

namely gill nets, cast nets and dragnets

Photographs were taken prior to preservation

as formalin decolorizes the fish Fishes

brought to the laboratory were fixed in this

solution in separate jars according to the size

of species Smaller fishes were directly placed

in the formalin solution while larger fishes

were given an incision on the abdomen before

they were fixed The fishes were labeled

giving serial numbers, exact site from where

collected, date of collection and the local

name of fish used in this region Identification

of fishes was carried out by following Talwar

and Jhingran (1991)

Water samples were collected between 8 and

9 am and transported to the laboratory

immediately for further analyses Water

temperature was measured at the time of

sampling using mercury thermometer while

pH was measured with standard pH meter

Other parameters were analyzed in the

laboratory according to the methods

suggested by American Public Health

Association (APHA, 1992)

Fish were subjected to diversity analyses

using different indices like Shannon – Weiner

index (H) (1963), Simpson Dominance index

(D) and Simpson index of diversity (I-D)

(1949)

Shannon – Weiner index was calculated by

using the formula:

H = pi log 2Pi

where

H = Shannon-Weiner index

Pi = ni /N

ni = Number of individuals of each species in the sample

N = Total number of individuals of all species

in the sample

Abundance of fish population was calculated

by the sum of all available fishes in different sites Species richness was simply estimated

by the variety of fish species in five different sites

Simpson’s Diversity Indices

Simpson’s diversity index is a measure of diversity In ecology, it is often used to quantify the biodiversity of a habitat It takes into account the number of species present, as well as the abundance of each species

Simpson’s index of dominance was calculated

by using the formula:

) 1 (

) 1 (









N N

ni ni D

where,

ni = the total number of individuals of a particular species

N = the total number of individuals of all species

Simpson’s index of diversity 1 =D

Results and Discussion

Details of the various species of fish that were caught in the system are presented in Table-1a

& b As evident from the Table, a total of 154 fishes belonging to 12 different families were identified Among the various families, Cyprinidae recorded the highest species richness (7 species), followed by Channidae (4 species) and Bagridae (2 species) All the other families were represented by only one fish species

Table.1a Fish Diversity of Aathivayal Lake

Cyprinidae

1 Catla catla (Hamilton Buchaman) 18.0

2 Cirrhinus mrigala 9.0

4 Ctenopharyngodon idella 5.0

5 Cyprinus carpio 5.0

6 Hypophthalmicthys molitrix 6.0

Bagridae

8 Mystus carasius 2.0

9 Mystus vittatus 6.0

Channidae

10 Channa marulius 2.0

11 Channa punctatus 7.0

12 Channa striatus 2.0

13 Notopterus notopterus 1.0

Siluridae

14 Ompok bimaculatus 1.0

Anabantidae

15 Anabas testudineus 10.0

Anguillidae

16 Anguilla bengalensis 1.0

Aplocheilidae

17 Aplocheilus lineatus 2.0

Clariidae

18 Clarias batrachus 5.0

Gobiidae

19 Glossogobius giuris 1.0

Cichlidae

20 Oreochromis mossambicus 6.0

Mugilidae

21 Rhinomugil corsula 2.0

Amphipnoidae

Table.1b Fish Diversity Indices

In terms of percentage, Cyprinidae

represented 54% of the total fish population

followed by Channidae (10.67%),

Anabaenidae (9.7%), Bagridae (7.76%),

Cichlidae (5.82%) and Claridae (4.85%)

while the remaining families comprised less

than 2% each

A family wise comparison reveals that in

Cyprinidae, among the seven species that

were recorded, the most dominant one in

terms of number was Catla catla followed by

Cirrhinus mrigala Among Channidae, the

most dominant species was Channa punctatus

and in Bagridae it was Mystus carassius

Baillie and Groombridge (1996) suggested

that according to IUCN Redlist of threatened

animals, 20% were freshwater fishes

Literature reveals that abiotic and biotic

factors play an important role in fish diversity

in freshwater ecosystems While Sivakami et

al., (2015) reported that physico-chemical

characteristics like pH and dissolved oxygen

are key habitat features which can be

correlated to fish diversity, Sharma and Gupta

(1994) after studying the effect of temperature

on the growth of fishes reported that the ideal

temperature for their growth was between

14.5 and 38.6 C In the present study, the

water temperature was found to range

between 20 and 28C which appears

favourable for growth of fish Jhingran (1983)

suggested that the ideal pH for fish growth

was between 7 and 9 units In the present

study also, the pH averaged 7 to 8.5 units

which is favourable for fish growth Welch

(1952) while analyzing the physico-chemical

variables of more than a thousand inland

bodies in US reported that DO levels of less

than 3 mg/l should be regarded as hazardous

to lethal under average conditions and that 5

mg/l or more should be present in waters if

conditions are to be favourable for fish

culture A perusal of the DO levels in the

present study reveals that DO levels were

always above 3 mg/l Earlier, similar reports

were also suggested by Senthil et al., (2012), Shukla and Singh (2013) and Sivakami et al.,

(2014) In addition, Jhingran (1983) also suggested that high siltation can cause an adverse effect on fish productivity by interfering with its respiratory system while

Prasad et al., (2009) suggested that increased

BOD values can decrease DO levels and affect fish productivity

Thus it is imperative to know the factors which control the quality of life in a system for the sustenance and maintenance of fish diversity According to Shukla and Singh (2013) the best approach towards the conservation of a species is to disseminate information, education and awareness about the danger and extinction of species as preservation is not only better but also is cheaper than looking for ways for recalling the lost species

References

Alcamo, J., Doll, P and Henrichs, T (2003) Global estimates of water withdrawals and availability under current and future

‘business-as-usual’ conditions

Hydrological Sciences Journal, 48:

317-337

APHA (1992) Standard methods for the examination of water and wastewater American Public Health Association, Washington, USA

Ballie and Growbridge, B (1996) IUCN red list of threatened animals IUCN,

Washington DC, p 28

Jenkins, M (2003) Prospects for

Biodiversity Science, 302: 1175-1177 Jhingran, V G (1983) Fish and Fisheries of India Hindustan Publishing Corporation, New Delhi, p 460

Prasad, D., Venkataramana, G V and Thomas, M (2009) Fish diversity and its conservation in major wetlands of

Mysore Journal of Environmental

Biology, 30: 713-718

Senthil Murugan, A and Prabaharan, C

(2012) Fish Diversity in relation to

Physico-chemical characterstics of

Kamala Basin of Darbhanga District,

Bihar, India International journal of

Pharmaceutical & Biological Archives,

3: 211-217

Sharma, L L and Gupta, M C (1994) Some

aspects of limnology of Awarchand

reservoir, Rajasthan Physical

Parameters, Pollution Research, 13:

16-179

Shukla, P and Singh, A (2013) Distribution

and diversity of freshwater fishes in

Aami River, Gorakhpur, India

Advances Biological Research, 7:

26-31

Singh, V N., Kumar, V and Singh, G P

(1994) Qualitative and quantitative

study of benthic fauna of Kararia lake

of Motihari, Bihar, India Journal of Freshwater Biology, 6: 21-25

Sivakami, R., Sirajunisa, V., Abdul Kader, K and Prem Kishore, G (2015) Fish Diversity and its Conservation in Uyyakkondan Channel, Tiruchirappalli

District, Tamil Nadu Intenational Journal of Zoological Research, 5:

27-32

Talwar, P K and Jhingran, V G (1991)

Inland Fishes of India and Adjacent Countries Oxford and IBH Publishing

Co., New Delhi 112 - 116

Vorosmarty, C., Green, J P and Salisbury, J (2000) Water system group A Global

Hydrology Research Group Science,

289: 284-288

Welch, P S (1952) Limnological Methods

McGraw-Hill Book Co Inc., New Delhi p 280

How to cite this article:

Anbalagan, R., and Sivakami, R 2017 A Study on Fish Diversity in a Fresh Water Lake in Tamil Nadu, India Int.J.Curr.Microbiol.App.Sci 6(5): 2561-2565

doi: https://doi.org/10.20546/ijcmas.2017.603.290